Chris Hemsworth Stars ‘Thor’ Remembering Stan “The Man” Lee

Remembrance and tributes posts in memory of the legendary Stan Lee continue to pour in over social media. And one of the most touching tweets so far came from none other than Avengers star Chris Hemsworth.

Sharing a picture of Lee in a Thor helmet wielding Thor’s beloved Mjolnir, Chris Hemsworth posted in his Twitter to thank the former Marvel publisher for the stories he helped create.

“RIP my friend,” he tweeted, “Thank you for the incredible adventures your stories took all of us on.”
“My love & support go out to all your friends and family.”

Chris Hemsworth, starring as Thor Odinson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a character Lee helped created. Although originally rooted in Norse mythology, Lee – along with his younger brother Larry Lieber and the late great Jack Kirby – adapted the character of Marvel Comics.

Hemsworth has appeared as the Asgardian in a handful of properties for Marvel Studios. The powerful Stormbreaker would play the role at least one more time in next year’s Avengers 4.

According to Chris Hemsworth, Avengers 4 is bound to shock movie-goers.

“If you were shocked by ‘Infinity War,’ I think the second one is even more shocking, for other reasons entirely,” he said. “That’s what kind of blowing me away when I read both scripts at the first time. It is how they managed to orchestrate so many different characters. But still giving them each their own separate shot and moments, and have it be elevated and feel fresh and unique. Not just like a messy and thrown-together assembly of these guys.”

The Thor star revealed he’s happy for the evolution the majority of MCU characters have taken over the ten-year history of the shared universe.

“The second one I probably feel even more excited about,” Chris Hemsworth said. “Just for people to see, I think it’s another step again. For each step we seem to take with these films, I love the fact that there are growth and evolution. It continued to surprise people as opposed to sort of flatlining, which was obviously always a fear – that they would run out of ideas or run dry of creative excitement. For me, this whole experience is incredible. Particularly the last one.”

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X-Men and Spider-Man: The Classic ‘90s Animated Series on Disney+ at Launch

With the launch of Disney+ just around the corner, the upcoming streaming service has provided us a few updates on what we can expect in terms of content. Fan-favorite Marvel Comics animated series from the ‘90s will be part of the initial offering for Disney+.

The Disney+ will also launch with new and old movies and TV series from Marvel, Star Wars, and other Disney imprints as well as their animated classics. The Marvel and Star Wars shows will be part of the canonical and shared cinematic universes inhabited by both brands and their catalog of characters. This news comes from a Twitter account dedicated to Disney+ updates.

Furthermore, it seems that Disney+ will be taking the Disney Afternoon into the digital frontier, as the streaming service announced an “ideal afternoon schedule” which suggests that they’ll be making several popular kids’ shows from generations past available on their platform. According to the tweet below, other classics like DuckTales, TaleSpin, Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Gargoyles, and Darkwing Duck will also be part of the upcoming lineup streaming exclusively on Disney+. While DuckTales has been revived in a new form and even has a “classic” art style, the rest of the series have not.

The hit ‘80s and ‘90s series can be streamed – even if you pay to buy or rent them – on Amazon Prime or some other platforms, but will not stream free anywhere as far as we can tell. Darkwing Duck doesn’t appear to be streaming even if you pay for it. For years, fans could not get their hands on decent-quality copies of the shows in questions, with DVD releases coming fairly late to the game. A number of older series that the House of Mouse has in their vaults, such as the original Muppet Babies and House at Pooh Corner, are still unavailable at all.

Disney+ kicks off on November 12 this year. The service will cost $6.99 per month (or $69.99 per year).

Sony Says “Door is Closed” on Spider-Man in the MCU

Spidey fans hoping to see the friendly neighborhood return to the MCU after Sony and Marvel Studios split are out of luck now. It looks like they will have to wait a little longer. Maybe a lot longer. Recently, Sony Pictures has spoken out about this subject, showing no signs of intention in taking back their collaboration with Disney any further, at least for now.

At Variety’s Entertainment & Technology summit, Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra opened up about the future of Spider-Man in the MCU, saying: “For the moment the door is closed.”

Rather, Sony will push forward with their own cinematic universe focused largely on Spider-Man characters. The initial deal allowed Spider-Man to appear in Marvel Studios films to co-exist with the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But now it was expired following the success of Spider-Man: Far From Home and the fact that Marvel’s parent company Disney wanted a considerable lift in their cut of the box office revenue for Spidey movies. However, Sony essentially did not agree.

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Tony Vinciquerra said there was “no ill will” between Sony and Marvel. That could be a good sign for a potential conversation in the future, and cryptically said, “It is a long life,” in regards to the subject.

“We had a great run with [Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige] on Spider-Man movies,” said Vinciquerra. “We tried to see if there is a way to work it out … the Marvel people are terrific. We have great respect for them; on the other hand, we have some pretty terrific people of our own. Feige did not do all the work.”

Still, Sony Pictures has no plans to slow down with their efforts on Spider-Man. Furthermore, according to the chairman, a Venom sequel is now on the way, along with “fix of six” shows based on the Spidey world. By the sound of it, the studio might just be adding Spider-Man to the world of Venom or other titles like Morbius. He also pointed to the massive success of the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, as a proof that the studio is capable of going it solo in this superhero genre.

“Spider-Man was fine before the event movies. He did better with the event movies, and now we have our own universe. He’ll play off the other characters as well,” said Tony Vinciquerra. “I think we are pretty capable of doing what we have to do here.”

So at this point, the Spider-Man future seems only undetermined from the perspective of fans who have been still hoping to see him return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Meanwhile, Sony and Disney have both been firm on their stance of not collaborating going forward or so. Unless something changes, this could be the way the movies will go now.

Can Kevin Feige pull off another miracle? We have to wait and hope for it. Share your thoughts with us!

The Marvel’s Phase 4 Will Feature Evil Captain Americas

Even though the saga of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already over, the 2020 storyline will be about evil Captain Americas. The latest Marvel film Avengers: Endgame may have given a poignant ending to the Star-Spangled Avenger’s adventures, but the MCU is not done exploring the impact and influence of Captain America. In fact, Black Widow and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will involve different, evil versions of Cap next year.

In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Steve Rogers was enhanced by the Super-Soldier Serum, turning him into the greatest soldier in America history. Back then, he was frozen in ice in the waning days of World War II and resurrected right before the Avengers assembled in 2021. Since then, Steve Rogers has become the leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but still a fugitive from the law. His refusal to sign the Sokovia Accords in the Civil War made him a wanted international criminal to the point when Peter Parker’s gym teacher assumed Cap was a “war criminal.” However, his pure heart and desire to do the right thing has always rung true, and this, the Super Soldier Serum, is what truly made Steve Rogers both a hero and a good man.

Although the original Captain America is now out of the picture, and while Steve Rogers passed his Vibranium shield to Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), his specter continues to loom large over the MCU. Here is how the Disney+ series and Black Widow will be toying with an evil version of Cap as well as the varying ways that would impact the MCU.

1. JOHN WALKER/U.S. AGENT IN THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

Bucky Barnes as known as The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) could already be considered as the evil Russian alternative of Captain America, but now it looks like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will introduce another anti-Cap equivalent: Wyatt Russell as John Walker in the series streaming on Disney+. In Marvel Comics, John F. Walker was first introduced as Super-Patriot. Later he took over the Cap role from Steve Rogers before going on to become the U.S. Agent. While John Walker had similar abilities to Cap, he was also the opposite in temperament and personality – a stark contrast to the noble Steve.

It is unclear if John Walker will take on any of his comic book personae in that series. Since the U.S. Government already becomes uneasy about Sam Wilson inheriting Cap’s shield, plus he previously pals around with a former Russian assassin, the version of John Walker in The Falcon The Winter Soldier could show a third and even darker version of Captain America, that gives three different POVs on the meaning of Steve’s heroic legacy.

2. RED GUARDIAN IN BLACK WIDOW

Naturally, Russia craved their own version of Cap, and he’ll be introduced in Black Widow: David Harbour (Stranger Things) is playing Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. Red Guardian. In the comics, Red Guardian does not have superpowers, but he is a highly-trained hand-to-hand combatant – probably a graduate of the Red Room along with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Red Guardian carries a shield similar to Captain America, that means he will be a different spin on the Star-Spangled Avenger. Furthermore, Red Guardian’s mysterious connection to Black Widow could shed light on why Natasha found it so easy to grow close to Steve when they were Avengers together.

3. ZOMBIE CAPTAIN AMERICA IN MARVEL’S WHAT IF…?

(Photo: Marvel)

Even though What If…? does not release next year, the series will feature an evil Captain America when it debuts. What If…? will portray several twisted scenarios drawn from the 23 MCU films, and one of them will involve a zombie Cap fighting the Winter Soldier. While Marvel Zombies is something comic book fans have been clamoring Marvel to do, and they did get a taste in Spider-Man: Far From Home when Spidey (Tom Holland) had to face a zombified Iron Man in one of the illusions from Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). And while Zombie Captain America is a straight-up horror take on one of the most beloved characters in the MCU, it will be interesting (and even creepy) to see an undead Steve Rogers portrayed as an outright monster.

Avengers: Endgame Writers Explain Why Captain Marvel Was Not Around So Much

There have been speculations about the fact that Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) was given a limited role in Avengers: Endgame, though her presence had the potential to overshadow the story of the original members of the team. Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is one of the few people with a shot at being able to take down Thanos in a fight. That also meant she had the potential to resolve many of the conflicts in Endgame on her own.

The reveal of Captain Marvel happened during the post-credits scene of her solo movie, setting her up to join the Avengers for Endgame. However, the role of Carol Danvers in the film was more limited than fans might have e expected. She found Tony Stark in space, then helped to fight against Thanos, and was gone from the movie until the final battle. It was explained than Captain Marvel was helping other worlds after the Snap, which is why she was unable to assist during the time travel adventure to collect the Infinity Stones.

Recently, the Endgame writers have finally set the record straight. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed why they restricted their use of the super-powerful Captain Marvel. The reason is that it would have been “unfair” to the original six Avengers having an outside character come in and solve their problems.

“Well, she was always going to be in it, but we did not have much to go on. They [Marvel Studios] had cast her, and that was it,” Christopher Markus told Vanity Fair. “It’s a tough balance to strike when you have a character that powerful, who you are going to bring in. And you do not want it to seem like, ‘Well, we just brought in this person who can clean the house, that we could not clean in the previous film.’ So we had to decide on a balance between not making it feel like a cameo, but also not having her around so much that she solved all the problems for everybody.”

Stephen McFeely also pointed out that Captain Marvel’s superpowers had the potential to fix all of the problems in the film. And the purpose of this story was to focus on the original members of the team.

“It also was not the point of the movie,” McFeely explained. “The point of the second film was saying goodbye to the original six Avengers, so their stories were gonna be way up here. We also had the same issue a little bit with Black Panther in Infinity War because people go, ‘Oh! Black Panther, he is coming back two months from now! Alright, I’m going to get a lot of Black Panther!’ And he got some. I mean, we went to Wakanda, but he was not the lead character. So it was not fair to the other six Avengers to have Captain Marvel come in and solve all their problems. It did not seem like good storytelling.”

The duo also had their unique challenge of scripting a character who first filmed on Avengers: Endgame before he own standalone movie under directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.

“So we sat with them and showed them the [Endgame] draft; we said, ‘Here is how she works in our movie, and here is how she sounds. Do you think this version of her, the version we had to decide on for our movie, that is 20 years after the hypothetical movie you are going to make – and have you done anything that would force you to do anything you did not want to do previously?’” Stephen McFeely told Backstory Magazine. “It was fine. But we certainly got their input.”

The Endgame screenwriters did review the Captain Marvel script during filming on Endgame, but according to Christopher Markus, “It was informative, but anything, it was too late to make any changes to ours.”

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are now available on Digital HD and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Dave Bautista is beloved for his portrayal of Drax the Destroyer in Marvel Studios’ hit Guardians of the Galaxy films, but he’s also a fan favorite off the movie set. One of the biggest reasons is that the actor never hesitates to share what is on his mind. Recently, he responded to a fan’s proposal of him playing a Batman villain with quite a bit of enthusiasm. Bautista then shared a story regarding that and elaborated a bit on his interest for the superhero genre. During that tweet, the actor said that Marvel Studios did not seem to see the worth in a Drax solo film.

“Point is I’m freaking love comic book characters, and I want a standalone,” he wrote on Twitter. “@MarvelStudios does not see the worth in #Drax or possibly myself or both, but I am not giving up. I missed out a DC project because of scheduling conflicts, but hopefully, there is other characters and opportunities.”

It seems that Dave Bautista is all for a Drax standalone movie, but even if that does not happen, he is not done with comic book characters by a longshot, as he also addressed the possibility of taking part in a DC project. Dave Bautista mentioned that he missed out on that due to scheduling conflicts, though he didn’t reveal what the project was.

Point is I freaking love comic book characters and I want a stand alone. @MarvelStudios doesn’t see worth in #drax or possibly myself or both but I’m not giving up. I missed out on a DC project because of scheduling conflicts but hopefully there’s other characters & opportunities https://t.co/OX1XDnbmk9

Dave Bautista has been quite busy on the Marvel front over the past few years, so it could have been anything during the time between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Avengers: Endgame, as he was involved in some capacity in both of those as well as Guardians Vol. 2 and Infinity War.

The only current DCEU film that was shot before that was the original Man of Steel, so the role Dave Bautista is referencing could have been in movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League, Wonder Woman, and Shazam!, which have all hit theaters since then.

Another potential role is that he is referring to a movie that is currently in production, and the most interesting project is The Suicide Squad. The film is being directed by James Gunn, who also helmed the Guardians films. James Gunn took the movie on during his ouster from Disney, although he’d eventually return to Marvel and the House of Mouse for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Dave Bautista will finish The Suicide Squad first though, so hopefully, we will get a cameo from him at least in the movie. But who knows? Maybe he will show up somewhere else in the DC universe after his run at Marvel is done.

Marvel Star Dave Bautista Wants to Play a Batman Villain

Dave Bautista is a fixture of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his role as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. The thing is, that does not mean he is opposed to playing a different sort of character over DC’s corner of the cinematic universe, and definitely, he is into one specific idea centered on Batman’s world. The Dark Knight has one of the most iconic lineups of villains in comics, so the options are many, and Dave Bautista could probably bring several of them to life in a unique way. However, thanks to a recommendation from B.J. Mendelson, now we know one villain. That’s Dave Bautista who seems to be behind all the way.

The discussion kicked off when B.J. Mendelson took to Twitter, sharing his thoughts on the new Joker trailer.

“Nope. Still not feeling the ‘Joker’ movie,” he wrote. “If you are going to give a Batman villain a standalone movie, it should be that Matt Hagen Clayface starring @DaveBautista.”

The Drax actor then shared that post, expressing Mendelson’s enthusiasm for the idea. He wrote, “I’m going to enthusiastically agree with you on that!”

Actually, Matt Hagen is the second person to use the Clayface name in the comics. The character is much less well known than the original Basil Karlo, though fans mostly have known him of the Batman: Animated Series, which used the Hagen name but had a story more based on Karlo. Either way, a Bautista Clayface obviously has us intrigued, and we are all for it.

Dave Bautista also took a second to address the Joker movie. He cannot wait to see it, despite not really connecting it to Batman.

Odd thing is I’m dying to see it but my brain has not connected it to Batman at all. There’s a disconnect for some reason but I can’t wait to see Joaquin as The Joker. Looks interestingly dark and grounded in the vain of The Dark Knight series. I’m in!! https://t.co/4gLDfuJtnm

“Odd thing is I am dying to see it, but my brain hasn’t connected it to Batman at all,” wrote Bautista. “There is a disconnect for some reason, but I can’t wait to see Joaquin [Phoenix] as The Joker. Look interestingly dark and grounded in the vain of The Dark Knight series. I’m in!”

Dave Bautista has already proven how capable he’s at bringing comic book characters to life on the big screen, as his tenure in the MCU has been universally celebrated. Drax The Destroyer is a fan-favorite member of the Guardians, with Bautista constantly chewing the scenery and popping in one-liners. However, the character also has a heart, and we peel the layers of trauma and grief during each of his appearance on the big screen.

And just like that, Dave Bautista has thrown his name in the ring to play Clayface for the DC live-action universe. But we have to wait and see what DC and Warner Bros. will do with Batman and his supervillains when the characters remain unknown, as the contents of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is still being kept under wraps. However, there are a ton of characters that have not made it into the shared universe, and Clayface could be a great choice cinematically. Bat-fans out there would be thrilled to see Dave Bautista pivot his Drax character over to the DC side of things. In the meantime, the upcoming DC film is Joker, which hits theaters on October 4.

How Thor Became Unworthy in Marvel Comics

Thor has become unworthy of holding the Mjolnir in both Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but for very different reasons. The character’s debut in the MCU centered around his exile to Earth as a mortal and his unworthiness to lift the Mjolnir. In the comics, this was explored deeper as the God of Thunder even got a limited series literally titled The Unworthy Thor.

Thor’s ability and worthiness to use the Mjolnir was a central theme in his introduction to the MCU, eventually with audiences learning that anyone worthy of it can wield the hammer, such as Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Captain America in Avengers: Endgame (2019). This is pretty the same in Marvel Comics: only those worthy of Mjolnir will be able to use it, but the reason behind Thor’s unworthiness had nothing to do with arrogance.

Following the Original Sin storyline in 2014, Nick Fury, with the powers of the Watchers, whispered something to Thor and that caused him to lose the ability to use the Mjolnir, making way for another worthy character who soon took the name (and powers) of Thor: Jane Foster. After this, Thor continued his own journey under the name “Odinson.” Fury’s words were not unveiled until the limited series The Unworthy Thor in 2016, and with them what truly made Thor no longer being able to lift the hammer.

Nick Fury said, “Gorr was right,” which connect Thor, God of Thunder, where Gorr the God Butcher goes after the Gods as he believes they’ve forgotten to help those in need and, because of that, they should die. Back then, Thor realized that he and the rest of the Gods aren’t worthy of admiration as they’re “vain and vengeful creatures,” making it impossible for him to use the Mjolnir. Before that revelation, Odinson had the chance to take the Ultimate Mjolnir, but he decided not to. Instead, he channeled the power of it, returning Asgard to its rightful place after the events in Secret Wars, especially with the help of Beta Ray Bill. After keeping the hammer away from the Collector and saving the kingdom, Odinson would have most likely been worthy again, but these actions would not have changed his situation that much if he still found himself unworthy – not only of the Mjolnir but the love and admiration of mortals and his overall role as a God.

Now with Thor: Love and Thunder officially part of the MCU’s Phase 4, and Natalie Portman returning as Jane Foster and taking on the role of Thor along with Chris Hemsworth, it looks like Marvel Studios is taking some ideas from the events in Original Sin and The Unworthy Thor to make this change. However, what remains unclear is whether they’ll make Thor Odinson unworthy, perhaps instead proving that Jane Foster has the qualities that make her a person worthy of Mjolnir. After all (as mentioned above), Vision and Captain America were still able to use the hammer while Thor was worthy.

We’ll go to see when Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters November 5, 2021.

Anthony Mackie Says He Won’t Be the New Captain America

On the last Thursday, Marvel Studios had the entire D23 crow in a lather during the Disney+ panel. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series is a hot topic of conversation all day, and it seems like the star Anthony Mackie has just added some fuel to the fire, giving comments about what name his character will be called in this new show. Variety caught up with both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, clarifying why the series is called The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Anthony Mackie, in true Sam Wilson fashion, tried to play down any ideas that he would be dressed up as Captain America. During the presentation, one fan even yelled out the character’s name while they were on stage. The actor just called her kind and did not really dwell on it. It looks like the Falcon is here to stay even with his brand-new shiny shield.

“I’m The Falcon. I’ll always be The Falcon. The moniker will stay the same,” Anthony Mackie confirmed.

That seems pretty cut and dry like Anthony Mackie won’t become the “new” Captain America. Instead, this would probably signal a sort of addition to his character as The Falcon rather than outright replacing Steve Rogers. His words are sure to raise some eyebrows, but fans might have a reason to be skeptical of both stars and how they would deflect these kinds of questions about the new shield bearer.

After all, as some has suspected in the wake of the world without Steve Rogers, it looks like the upcoming Disney+ series will introduce one John Walker, probably more commonly known as U.S. Agent. John Walker will be played by Wyatt Russell, of J.J. Abrams’ Overlord. Alongside Russell, both Daniel Brühl and Emily VanCamp will be joining the cast. They have been confirmed to reprise their roles as Baron Helmut Zemo and Agent Sharon Carter, respectively.

Wyatt Russell

As the name suggests, John Walker/U.S. Agent was turned into a pseudo-Captain America experiment, working solely on behalf of the United States government. However, he did make his comics debut as the supervillain Super-Patriot so it has yet to be revealed if Russel’s take will be friend or foe to Cap’s closest buddies. As with most things at this stage already in development, Marvel Studios is still pretty hush on the storyline, though Sebastian Stan has offered up the first bits of insight.

While appearing at a Comic Convention, the Bucky Barners actor fielded all sorts of questions from fans for about 30 minutes. By the end of the panel, Sebastian Stan had unveiled his expectations for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

“I think it is time for Bucky [Barners] to go out there and have an identity outside of the circumstances that we have met him through,” said Stan. “So, I don’t know. He might do all kinds of things. He might even go on a date. I don’t know. The scary world out there, you know? Apps, thinks like that. I don’t know what he is gonna do. I can’t see him on an iPhone. I think it is gonna be a lot of dealing with Anthony’s character and Anthony himself, which is always another character.”

While there are many jokes between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie about working together, often building on their characters’ on-screen chemistry with real-life banter, Sebastian Stan has nothing but love for his co-star.

“I gave a blast working with Anthony,” said the Winter Soldier star. “It is very funny half the time. It is just gonna be a lot of that move your seat up thing. I am gonna tell him that if we are gonna be in the car, I’m gonna be in the passenger’s seat, and he is gonna be in the back, or I should be in the driver’s seat.”

So, do you think Falcon should be the new Captain America? The Falcon and the Winter Soldier doesn’t yet have a release date. The series will be streaming exclusively on Disney+, beginning filming in October.

Taika Waititi Confirms Thor: Love and Thunder Will Feature Two Thors

Marvel Studios is now set to take the world by storm with the fourth Thor film in the MCU, one that will bring back a popular character and an actress who could give the original God of Thunder a run for her money in the franchise. However, many fans are still confused by the reveal of Thor: Love and Thunder as well as the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/the Mighty Thor.

Recently, Thor: Love and Thunder filmmaker Taika Waititi spoke with Entertainment Tonight at Disney’s D23 Expo to clarify a major detail about the upcoming movie, indicating that Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) will not lose his status while Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) will instead join him in the pantheon.

“[She is] a Thor. There is still the other Thor, the original Thor [played by Chris Hemsworth],” said Taika Waititi before adding, “She is not called Female Thor. In the comics, she is called the Mighty Thor. It comes from that comic run. I could not be happier and more excited.”

In the recent storylines from Marvel Comics, Jane Foster led the title The Mighty Thor after the original character became Unworthy, because of some dubious machinations by Nick Fury. Odinson was then unable to lift the hammer Mjolnir, and its power was given to Jane Foster, who later took on the mantle and joined the Avengers.

A separate title was launched called The Unworthy Thor, in which Odinson wields his ax Jarnbjorn, which looks very similar to his hammer/ax Stormbreaker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Obviously, this weapon also has the same name as Beta Ray Bill’s hammer, but that is a story for a different time.

To some, it may seem that Disney has owned Marvel at the first place, but actually, it all started back in 2009 in a landmark deal. At the time Disney first purchased Marvel, it had just kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, and that turned out to be a big-time money earner in just a decade. Combined with its larger roster of characters, the House of Mouse looked at the deal as a gold mine, and it seems like they were right.

On this day in 2009, Disney officially bought Marvel for around $4 billion. As Bloomberg reporter Jon Ehrlichman points out, Disney’s Marvel films have since made around $8.5 billion at the box office. So yeah, it’s a pretty profitable return on investment. However, that’s purely box office receipts, so it does not even count all the merchandising money Disney has made on the deal through toys, collectibles, or video games, etc. And even for the properties at other studios, like Spider-Man, the Walt Disney Company still nets all that toy money. So it seems they did make the right decision. At the time of the deal, both Marvel and Disney were excited about the future.

“This is perfect from a strategic perspective,” Robert Iger (Disney chief executive) told CNN Money. “The treasure trove of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best.”

“Disney is a perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given their proven abilities to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” Marvel former CEO Ike Perlmutter said. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon their vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

Of course, none of that would have been possible without Marvel’s long legacy in comics. And today is also a notable beginning there.

On this day, August 31, in 1939, Timely Comics (which eventually became Atlas Comics and the finally Marvel Comics) published Marvel Comics #1, giving the world its first look at the Marvel Universe. For 80 years, Marvel has reflected the world outside our window – inspiring millions of fans with their iconic characters and timeless stories that brought the Marvel Universe to the forefront of pop culture today. The first characters to ever be introduced to this comics world are the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner (aka Namor). Although we have yet to see either to these characters enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they will get here at some point, and it seems like Namor is up next.

Now let’s celebrate the 80th anniversary of Marvel history all year long! You can visit marvel.com/marvel80 for more.